09 Wednesday Nov 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
bar tape, bike, commuter, cork grips, diamond wrap, harlequin, Miyata
Miyata Commute, a set on Flickr.
This is the latest setup on my Miyata commuter. I finished up the Albatross bars with cork, did a diamond wrap, and twined and shellac’d the setup. I love the thumbshifters I’m using now. I used to have bar-ends on these bars, but they were just too long to make it usable. This is a really comfortable setup for me, although it’s definitely a slower ride when compared to the Hilsen.
03 Thursday Nov 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
basket, beer, donuts, Fremont Brewing, growler, Maple Leaf, rivendell, Seattle, Wald
Basket of Beer
I commute 4 days a week from North Seattle (Maple Leaf) into Downtown. I generally leave my work clothes in my office so I don’t need to carry much on the bike, and after a few years of this routine, I’ve been able to whittle down my normal load. That said, I often try to bring in donuts for the crew. I also occasionally enjoy a nice fresh growler of pub stew (Fremont Brewing Co. is the current favorite). Since I like to keep this stuff off my back, I have really found baskets to be a godsend. If you can get past the dorkiness, they are really versatile.
Donuts galore
I do prefer the basket on the front of the bike. I had a dual basket setup on my mountain bike commuter for a while, but I found that mounts/dismounts were sometimes causing painful dings when I swung my leg around and caught the corner of the basket. I also didn’t like the load hindered by the seat/light/toolbag. This stuff got in the vertical plane, and just made the basket less effective.
Baskets are Beautiful
02 Wednesday Nov 2011
Posted in Cycling
I’m a convert to front racks, baskets, and nice canvas bags. I currently use an Acorn Boxy Rando bag on my Riv, and a small Sackville Saddlesack for tools. On my “donut bike”, I have a medium sized Wald basket with a Riv Shopsack that I totally love.
Rivendell Front End
I was planning to try out the “low-trail” design, but I’m having trouble justifying getting a new bike just to test this. I recently rode a few low-trail bikes at my LBS. I tried a VO Polyvalent, and a Rawland rSogn, but they felt not too much different than my Hilsen in terms of stability with a front load. I think I just key into trail less than some.
Fall Foliage on the Bridge
I am currently using a Mark’s Rack on this bike. As I want a bit more platform for the Rando bag, as well as the basket I have been known to sport, I ordered a Nitto/Riv Platrack to add to this.
Rivendell Platrack
I’m probably going to experiment with the struts. They are supposed to run to the eyelets at the front axle, but I’m more interested in having the same supports from the mid-fork eyelets hold this guy in place. I think it would look cleaner. I’m also worried about having more reinforcement from the bottom of the fork, as it may stiffen up the fork in a bad way. It’s probably psychological, but I’ll see if I can get a quantifiable feel for this.
23 Thursday Jun 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
I’ve been a lifelong biking enthusiast, and have commuted and worked on my bikes for at least 20 years. I never built my own wheels, though. I finally got the gumption up to buy a truing stand, and give it a whirl.
First hand-built wheel
I picked up the basic parts (hubs, spokes, rims) from my local bike shop Free Range Cycles. They were very helpful and sized the spokes for me. This was the part I wanted help with the first time through, at least. The front wheel took most of my Fathers Day – probably 3-4 hours, but I got it all laced up and true. I used fairly standard XT hubs, and Sun CR18 rims.
My second attempt on the rear wheel went much more quickly, and I started to learn little things that made it a lot easier the second time around. I can see that doing a bunch of these will make me a more proficient mechanic. It’s definitely an art, but it is not hard to do if you have the time and inclination. Pretty cool when you ride the end product, too!
All trued up
Rear Wheel
Finished wheels on bike
First ride - Awesome!
23 Thursday Jun 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
a. homer hilsen, albatross, Bombadil, Grant Peterson, Hunqapiller, Moustache, porteur, rivendell, SimpleOne, Wool
I was on a tech conference trip in Santa Clara last week, and decided to make the trek up to Rivendell headquarters since I was in the area. This was my second visit since getting my A. Homer Hilsen in 2009. A co-worker tagged along for the ride, and we had an enjoyable morning in Walnut Creek. After I found my way up to the garage that is HQ, we walked into the first bay, and true to the last time I visited, nobody was there. We were browsing around for only a short time, when who else but Grant Peterson himself came in and asked if anyone was helping us.
I asked him if I could take a couple bikes out for a spin, and he asked me my PBH. Within about 5 minutes, he had set up 4 different bikes for me to ride. They were all different in a big way:
Cycle Seattle 